Problem is that while Kendrick was failing to grab hold of the job, Maicer Izturis became quite a little player, especially from the left side of the plate. I'm not sure I can go after Scioscia for playing Izturis. (Joe Sheehan)

Does Corey Patterson have secret photos of Dusty Baker? How can you explain the addition Baker has to Patterson and how many games do you think Patterson has cost the Reds?(pmuehlenkamp from Cincinnati)

Dusty believes his eyes. If you watch Corey Patterson for a short period of time, you're going to see him do things well. He's fast, strong and just "looks like a player." Except his results suck. I think Baker -- and a lot of other people -- believe what they see over the longer term results and that they refuse to believe that they could be so wrong. We saw the same thing with Baker and Neifi Perez. Just when Perez would be not hitting his way out of a job, he'd get one hit or make one great play in the field and that's what Baker would fixate on. (Will Carroll)

Derek, Do the Caribbean fans have more affection for the MLB stars, or do local heros command the attention?(jgalt73 from Portland, OR)

It's strange. MLB achievement is highly favored and respected, but there's a level of love that the guys who play well in winter ball get that someone who only plies his trade in the majors would be hard-pressed to reach. I remember seeing a game in Santo Domingo a few years back, and watching in amazement as Neifi Perez got a far greater intensity of applause than Vlad Guerrero. Vlad was the defending AL MVP at the time, but Neifi's a two-time Caribbean Series MVP. (Derek Jacques)

BP Roundtables

Really glad someone brought up Hawk, who may be the Neifi Perez of announcers in terms of VORA. As a Twins fan, I appreciate his willingness to compliment both the Sox and their opponents, but I simply cannot watch games he calls. (Dan Wade)

Really glad someone brought up Hawk, who may be the Neifi Perez of announcers in terms of VORA. As a Twins fan, I appreciate his willingness to compliment both the Sox and their opponents, but I simply cannot watch games he calls. (Dan Wade)

Walker's got a reasonable resume from a traditional standpoint, but again, once you let the air out of his stats, he's a decidedly below-average candidate:
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=9416

The bottom line is that it's probably going to be somebody else who becomes the first Rox rep in the Coop. Tulowitzki? Carlos Gonzalez? Neifi Perez, following a miraculous comeback? Only time will tell. (Jay Jaffe)